# Russian bots? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 21, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-bots/852292 "2020-04-21T20:49:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-bots/852292/21 "2020-04-23T14:31:31Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Is it inconceivable to you that a conscientious Russian, like an American, would not need to be paid to independently foster a view that would favor the global positioning of his own country? This resembles the issue of IT security in that the big problem is not detecting a certain type of activity, but determining intent. If FSB spits out a message on a media channel, and it is retransmitted unthinkingly by someone who trusts that account or its ideological profile, and it becomes a pattern of habit, that person arguably is indistinguishable from a Russian bot, though they lack the intent. Would it be a warnable offense to demonstrate that someone is pushing a certain point that seems to have originated, or is being actively pushed by social media bots? There’s publicly available information on that. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-bots/852292/22 "2020-04-23T19:13:01Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I had hoped this would be clarified in further reading, What exactly is a “Russian bot”? Is it a “software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet” (ie, a bot) of Russian origin? Or is it a forum member in good standing, patriotic national of Russia, who reflects a world view different from that of the State Department and Pentagon? In other words, what is described up-thread as “Kremlin lies” from “a hostile power”, even if they emanate from thoughtful humans that we are so happy to treat as “Russian bots”. Not because of their behavior, but their intolerable dissent. I dont think we have many, if any Russian bots. I was suspicious of one poster, now banned. Colibri banned a russki spammer. However, those russian bots- or just posters- when they spread their lies to say Facebook- those memes and lies can certainly be read by SDMB posters and repeated here. I saw it in the 2016 elections. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-bots/852292/23 "2020-04-23T19:23:32Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Once again, with as much feeling as I can muster, The FSB and IRA do not give one solitary, microscopic shit about about the SDMB. Probably not. Colibri does say he deleted a russian political spammer tho. But they dont have to. That’s the glory of the internet and social media- sharing. The FSA has a building full of trolls, this is well known. So they post a attack piece on Biden on say Facebook. A SDMB poster reads it, then repeats the lie here. That is exactly what the kremlin is relying on- their 100000 or so posts arent a drop in the bucket- but they get repeated, and then repeated again, shared and shared and shared. So that 100000 become tens or hundreds of millions. That’s how the internet and social media work. For example, I saw one lie that had been IDed as a 2016 Kremlin lie . A friend of mine, a dedicated BernieBro, shared that lie on FB. He wasnt a russian troll, he clearly had read it elsewhere and shared it. A very slightly changed version of that same lie was posted here… and likely tens of thousands of other places. So Once again, with as much feeling as I can muster… Russin disinformation can be shared here, even if the FSB hasnt bothered with us. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-bots/852292/24 "2020-04-23T19:34:50Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Well, that would be the question, wouldn’t it? > > For me? I’d define it as a person or persons, paid for by the Russians, to post things detrimental to the United States - and western democracies - in an effort to destabilize them as a means of increasing Russia’s operating room on the world stage. > … Well, sure. We likely dont have many of them. If any. But that’s not have social media works, and it isnt what the Kremlin is counting on. They do indeed spread misinformation- primarily in the how it will get shared, and reshared and shared over and over. So, no doubt some poster here, someone who hates Biden for example, will pick up that pieces of disinformation- maybe from the original Kremlin post, but more likely 2nd or 3rd hand. That’s exactly what the kremlin wants and is counting on. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-bots/852292/25 "2020-04-23T19:41:06Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > This resembles the issue of IT security in that the big problem is not detecting a certain type of activity, but determining intent. > > If FSB spits out a message on a media channel, and it is retransmitted unthinkingly by someone who trusts that account or its ideological profile, and it becomes a pattern of habit, that person arguably is indistinguishable from a Russian bot, though they lack the intent. > > Would it be a warnable offense to demonstrate that someone is pushing a certain point that seems to have originated, or is being actively pushed by social media bots? There’s publicly available information on that. Right, exactly. Apparently it is warnable. If you say they are spreading a lie, then you are calling them a liar. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-bots/852292/26 "2020-04-23T20:31:22Z")
Deth, as per usual, you show an astonishing capability of not getting any point. It is certainly possible - in Great Debates and Politics & Elections - to point out that something is wrong or incorrect without accusing someone of lying. It is also possible to point out that someone is basing their argument on a cite that is lying. As I had said in ATMB many, many times an accusation of lying requires two things: 1. You must say that a person is saying something that isn’t true 2. You must say that they’re doing some with knowledge that it isn’t true Simply repeating something someone else said that is untrue is not lying and shouldn’t be treated as such. So let’s at least TRY not to create new rules, shall we? In terms of social media? Yes, very good. You’ve proven that social media is essentially a form of networking. So? Do you somehow expect us to be able to control what people say on other sites? If so, you’re in for a disappointment. If one suspects another poster is a Russian troll - or ‘bot’ if one prefers - feel free to report it and we’ll investigate. Those who seem to think that Colibri killed a Russian spammer are making too much soup from one stone. Colibri said he may have killed one that may have been from Russia. Don’t get ahead of yourselves, here. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-bots/852292/27 "2020-04-23T20:49:06Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Deth, as per usual, you show an astonishing capability of not getting any point. > > I. > > As I had said in ATMB many, many times an accusation of lying requires two things: > > 1. You must say that a person is saying something that isn’t true > 2. You must say that they’re doing some with knowledge that it isn’t true > > Simply repeating something someone else said that is untrue is not lying and shouldn’t be treated as such. > … > In terms of social media? Yes, very good. You’ve proven that social media is essentially a form of networking. So? Do you somehow expect us to be able to control what people say on other sites? If so, you’re in for a disappointment. > … So let us say that I think a poster is repeating a lie spread by the kremlin or even the GOP. I dont think that person _actually_ works for either, they likely read it elsewhere and are repeating it here. So, what can I say in response? 1. That is a lie coming from the Kremlin/GOP. 2. You appear to be spreading a canard originating from the Kremlin/GOP. 3. Either of the above, with: Did you know that? Why are you doing that? So, while no, I dont expect you guys to control what people say on other sites, you do control what people say here. And they do spread misinformation - 2nd hand, sure. But they do. They did it in 2016, they are likely doing it now. > **[Russian Media Freak Over Joe Biden’s Election Resurrection](https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-state-media-freak-over-joe-bidens-election-resurrection)** > > The Kremlin-controlled media hoped and, it would seem, believed that Bernie Sanders would get the Democratic nomination, paving the way to victory for Donald Trump. \*Moscow’s repeated pitch on Russian-language state media for domestic consumption and for the sizable community of Russian speakers in the United States is that Joe Biden is damaged goods and Donald Trump is inevitably going to be re-elected. But the messaging doesn’t stop there. The Kremlin’s English-language media aim to influence Americans on their home turf. RT actively promotes conspiracy theories targeting Biden while lauding Trump’s efforts to “investigate” his leading political opponent. RT predicted that Trump will win a second term, claimed that Biden is “cognitively unraveling” and surmised that “allegations of corruption… are doing real damage to his presidential bid.” \* \*Last year, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report identified “dozens” of U.S. political rallies organized on social media by the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Russian troll farm whose operatives were indicted for interfering with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Kremlin’s minions will most certainly amplify any efforts to cause public unrest and disrupt the Democratic convention, while also elevating the standard propaganda theme of “rigged elections.” \* Now, are they trolling? Well, if they believe the lie from the Kremlin, not technically. I hardly expect you guys to get into fact checking. That’s our job. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-bots/852292/28 "2020-04-23T22:40:02Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Deth, **as per usual,** you show an astonishing capability of not getting any point. Are us non-mod posters allowed to use language like this, outside of the pit? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-bots/852292/29 "2020-04-23T23:35:46Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Those who seem to think that Colibri killed a Russian spammer are making too much soup from one stone. Colibri said he may have killed one that may have been from Russia. Don’t get ahead of yourselves, here. My point was that the problem was utterly negligible. It was one case more than four years ago, out of tens of thousands of spammers and trolls, and it wasn’t even what people usually refer to as a “Russian bot.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-bots/852292.md?page=1)